How
often should we take Communion?
 |
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." ~ Luke 22:19-20 |
This study hopes to help you understand what God's Word says regarding the partaking of the bread and wine; to "do this in remembrance" of Christ our Lord. There is also a recipe at the end of this study should you want to bake it for this occasion in a simple, yet meaningful manner.
Did you know the
Passover is an ordinance?
Exodus 12:41-43
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt:
this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the
Passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
Introduction:
"Communion"
or to partake of the "bread and the wine", is
to partake of the blood of Christ, and body of Christ.
Christ is that one "one bread" as mentioned in
1 Corinthians 10:
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? The bread which 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread
Jesus
explained this (Communion) simply himself for us. "For this is
my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for
the remission of sins":
Matthew 26:26-28
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
So how
often should we partake of Communion? There are two parts
to this question [the second part we will answer in a
moment]. The first, we find in God's Word in 1
Corinthians 11:25, which reads, that we may partake as
"oft" or "often" as we need it. And, "let man examine
himself", and "so let him eat of that
bread". There is room for Communion as often as you
would like to partake, or as you feel you need it:
1 Corinthians
11:24-28
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
Can the
Communion be done "unworthily", or "in
vain"? The answer is yes, and Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians
11, explaining that one should not be partaking of the Lord's Supper lacking the discernment of
it's purpose.
Paul explains that we are not to eat and drink as we do a meal, but
rather, to eat and drink Communion with the
proper reverence for our Lord as it's soul purpose. Communion is not
for the flesh, but for the spirit, so that we do not take
Communion in condemnation:
1 Corinthians 11:20-22
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
1 Corinthians 11:29
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
1 Corinthians 11:34
34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
So, How often should we partake of Communion?
God's Word reveals four times a year in which Communion
was observed, [or gives reason (Christ's sacrifice)
to observe it], acknowledging the new covenant, which was
the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and the remission
of our sins. He asked, that we do this [partake of the
bread and the wine] "in remembrance of me".
Days for
the remembrance and observance of Christ's Memorial are:
- PASSOVER
- The Lord's Supper
Luke 2:40-41
40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and
the grace of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
Passover.Matt 26:16-18
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.Matthew 26:17-19
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to
Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the
Passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master
saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my
disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready
the Passover.Mark 14:1-2
1 After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.Luke 22:7
7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed.
Acts 20:7
break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
PENTECOST - Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat
upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.Acts 20:6-7
6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.Acts 20:16
16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend
the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at
Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
FEAST OF TABERNACLES (Feast of the Ingathering) - Thanksgiving
John 7:37-38
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water.John 7:14-16
14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and
taught.
15 And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having
never learned?
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent
me.
DAY Of ATONEMENT - restoration, reconciliation to the divine Cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ
Romans 5:11-13
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom we have now received the atonement.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when
there is no law.Romans 6:6
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Rom 6:6
Significance of Unleavened Bread:
What
kind of bread was used for the Passover Supper? We can
document that is was unleavened bread:
Luke 22:1
1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.
Unleavened:
106 azumos (ad'-zoo-mos);
from 1 (as a negative particle) and 2219; unleavened, i.e. (figuratively) uncorrupted; (in the neutral plural) specially (by implication) the Passover week:
KJV-- unleavened (bread).
And we
can document the significance of leaven in the bread, and
the lack thereof, and the meaning of partaking
of "unleavened bread" for Communion:
Exodus 29:2
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor 5:7-8
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
A Recipe
for Unleavened Bread for Communion:
Unleavened
Bread - Recipes from Biblical Times
by Naomi Goodman, Robert Marcus, Susan Woolhandler
Ingredience:
- Unleavened bread - 2 cups whole wheat flour or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup barley flour
- 3/4 cup of water.
- Combine flour and water thoroughly with wooden spoon.
- Dust the top of this mixture
- Divide onto 6 to 8 balls, rounding them with floured hands.
- Oil a cookie sheet or use a heavy one that does not require oiling (Olive Oil).
- Place balls on cookie sheet.
- Press down each ball with hands to make a flat cracker (about 5 inches in diameter).
- (Prick with a fork, to prevent swelling.
- Bake for 10 minutes in a hot preheated oven (500 F).
- Remove bread and serve soon if they are to be eaten soft.
Otherwise, turn off the oven and leave the bread in until the
oven is cool.
Tips:
1. For best results: begin with the bread warm and used as soon as the timer goes off on the oven. You may like to make a small amount of small round and flattened breads, one for each person taking communion. Keep the loaves small because this flour is very filling and you may find it hard for some people to eat a large amount, especially a child. A five inch diameter would be fitting for about five people to break into pieces.
2. Use 'whole wheat pastry flour' from the health food store. This flour is pure as Father intended it to be and it is not as heavy as regular whole wheat flour. This is beneficial when chewing. Pastry flour also tastes better. If you wait for the bread to cool, it is very,
very, hard.
3. Like any good recipe, your bread will only taste as good as your ingredience, so I urge you to use good water as well as good flour. distilled water is a good idea, as it has no chlorine in the contents.
4. Do not forget 'the folk pricking' on the little circles of bread before
putting them into the oven. Without the pricks, It will puff up.
5. It is nice to have every person with their own individual, little circle loaf for The Communion Service. After asking YHVH's Blessing on the loaves, each person breaks there own loaf while reading the Scriptures.Matthew Chapter 26 is a good place to start reading.
I hope this study helped you to see the simplicity of the observance of Communion as it is written in God's Word.
"
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven; but my Father giveth you the
true bread from heaven."
John 6:32
In His Service, Shamrock
All
Scripture for this study was taken from the King James
Bible. Word studies were done with the Strong's
Concordance. The author is "Shamrock", and the
study can be shared freely, (excluding placing this on
the web anywhere) only if used in it's entirety, and
provided the original author's name is intact, (i.e. , no
new author's name is added, and the study remains
unaltered). Questions? Email Shamrock, at Shamrock@theseason.org.